Guard Shot at Conservative Group’s Offices

WASHINGTON—A man was in custody here Wednesday after allegedly shooting a security guard at the Family Research Council, a conservative group known for its opposition to gay marriage and abortion.

The suspect, identified by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as 28-year-old Floyd Corkins of Herndon, Va., allegedly approached the building around 10:50 a.m., walking under the entrance’s stone façade, which reads, “Faith. Family. Freedom.”

Authorities said Mr. Corkins tried to enter the council’s offices but was stopped in the lobby by the security guard. The suspect then allegedly fired a gun at the guard, wounding him in the arm. District of Columbia Police Chief Cathy Lanier said the guard and others managed to subdue and disarm the gunman. The guard’s injury isn’t considered life-threatening.

Late Wednesday, the FBI said the suspect would be charged with assault with a deadly weapon.

Investigators were trying to determine whether he is mentally ill, and if the motive for the alleged attack might fall under the legal definitions of domestic terrorism, a hate crime or something else, law-enforcement officials said. Mr. Corkins couldn’t be reached for comment.

Officials are probing whether the attack was related to the council’s well-publicized conservative stance. During the confrontation, the suspect criticized its work, two officials said.

Mr. Corkins had been a volunteer at the DC Center for the LGBT Community, a group for local lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, according to an employee there. David Mariner, its executive director, said in a statement: “I was shocked to hear that someone who has volunteered with the DC Center could be the cause of such a tragic act of violence. No matter the circumstances, we condemn such violence in the strongest terms possible.”

The Family Research Council’s president, Tony Perkins, recently defended the chief executive of restaurant chain Chick-fil-A, who had criticized gay marriage. “All Chick-fil-A did was refuse to be bullied by the politically correct crowd,” said Mr. Perkins in a radio commentary.

One official said the suspect was carrying Chick-fil-A-related items at the time of the shooting. A representative for Chick-fil-A declined to comment.

Elizabeth Ray, a spokeswoman for the National Organization for Marriage, said the group increased security at its Washington, D.C., offices after the shooting, as did similar groups at the state level.